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Chapter 1060 Family Infighting
The man in front of him looked to be in his thirties, but was actually in his fifties. He had an ordinary face and figure, and was not very masculine. The only thing he had was an imperial emperor who spoke Latin in a very special way. He was like a chameleon from the New World, and it was impossible to figure out his connection or his depth.

In the end, she decided to skip the probing part, stop using her personal charm, and get straight to the point. Although this was frustrating, it gave her enough sense of security.

"So, do you support the royal party more or the queen's party more?"

Hong Tao had also heard a little about the Queen Mother Medici mentioned by the Duchess. The Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, was built by her to commemorate her marriage to King Henry IV of France.

Louis XIII lost his father when he was young and was only ten years old when he ascended the throne, so his mother, Queen Mary, temporarily served as regent. Unlike Henry IV, who supported Protestantism, Mary was more inclined to Catholicism.

During her years in power, she almost reversed the policies of Henry IV, which aroused resistance from the French nobility, including her eldest son, King Louis.

After Louis XIII came to power, with the support of Cardinal Richelieu, Prince of Condé, Duke of Enghien, Henry II de Bourbon and others, he completely overturned his mother's diplomatic strategy that favored the Habsburg family and Spain, expelled her from the court and exiled her to the Castle of Bileau.

There is a strange phenomenon in European history: women named Mary are usually troublesome. For example, Bloody Mary, the Tudor princess, Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Queen of Louis XVI, the mother of Louis XIII, and the Duchess of Chevreuse, all of them are more restless than the other.

Queen Mother Marie stayed in the castle for only a year before she fled to join her youngest son, Gaston Jean Baptiste, Duke of Orleans, Louis XIII's brother.

The mother and son decided that Louis XIII's unfilial behavior was a serious crime, so they recruited troops and planned to drive him out of power. The result was bound to be a failure. With a queen mother who only cared about the welfare of her family and didn't care about the lives of the French people, and a spoiled son, it would be extremely difficult for them to succeed in their rebellion.

However, the tradition of Louis XIII or the European aristocracy was relatively mild. If this happened in China, no matter which dynasty it was, the entire family would be executed, which would be a serious crime that would bring disaster to the entire clan. The lightest punishment would be death.

But Louis XIII did not kill them. He simply expelled his mother and brother who had failed in their rebellion from the country so that they would no longer cause trouble in the country and could go wherever they wanted.

As a result, the mother and son fled to the Southern Netherlands, which was ruled by Spain. After a while, they felt that something was wrong and decided to rebel. Then they ran back to France to recruit soldiers, but they failed again...

With these two pieces of information, I'm afraid they can't even win the internal fight of the county government in China, but they have many nobles in France to support them and form a party. It can't be said that they can influence the decision-making of the French court, but they also have a certain influence.

These were not what Hong Tao learned from reading books in his later life, but were reflected in the intelligence summary sent to the French envoys and advisors over the years. That's why he asked this question, wanting to find out which side the Duchess was on.

"...Of course I am loyal to the king and queen...But I came here on a special mission this time, and it does have something to do with Queen Mother Mary."

Hong Tao asked casually, but it sounded like thunder to the Duchess. At this time, she was no longer in the mood for teasing, and the Duke of Buckingham's instructions and warnings began to echo in her mind.

"Go ahead, there are no outsiders here, and you can tell any secret." Seeing the Duchess glance at Wang Chengen from the corner of her eyes, Hong Tao immediately gave a positive response. "Queen Mary has three daughters. The eldest daughter Elizabeth is the Queen of Spain, and the youngest daughter Henrietta married King Charles I of England. I came here this time to accept the commission of the Queen of England and the Duke of Buckingham to confirm a promise to Your Majesty."

Wang Chengen was a eunuch, and the Duchess was probably not very clear about it, but she could only rest assured after receiving the emperor's affirmation. So a French envoy suddenly became the Queen of England's personal messenger.

"If it's about a private loan, I just want to ask one question. Can you make a decision on behalf of the Duke of Buckingham or Charles I?"

After hearing this, Hong Tao finally understood why the Duchess did not speak directly from the beginning. It turned out that not only was the Duke of Buckingham involved, but also the Queen of England, the daughter of the Queen Mother of France and the sister of King Louis XIII of France.

It seems that part of this private loan will definitely not fall into the hands of Charles I, even if he is the king, he will still be plundered. And the Duke of Buckingham and the Queen of England are 99% also having an affair, otherwise it is impossible to drag the Queen into such a major event to share a share.

In addition, the European aristocracy was really messy. King Philip IV of Spain and King Charles I of England were brothers-in-law. They married the two sisters of King Louis XIII of France respectively, and Louis XIII was their elder brother-in-law.

Don't be in a hurry. Prince Frederick Hendrick, the ruler of the United Provinces, is not an outsider. His son, the future William II, married an English princess, so he and Charles I are relatives!
After many twists and turns, it was worth it for the whole family to charter a boat and come across the ocean to negotiate with him. No matter how they fight, it is all family affairs. Only the conflict with the Ming Empire is a national hatred!

"…Here is a letter from the Duke of Buckingham!"

Without saying a word, the Duchess stood up from the stool, bent down and lifted up her skirt, revealing the six-quarter-length panties she was wearing underneath. She untied the straps and took out a letter sealed with body temperature and lacquer.

"..."

Fortunately, the letter was taken out from the leg of his underpants. If it had been a few inches higher, Hong Tao would have asked Wang Chengen to take it. Even so, thinking of this socialite with many lovers, his fingers still twitched slightly, as if countless germs were crawling up his hands along the letter paper.

He quickly glanced at it and put it on the table, using the excuse that the cigarette ash was rubbed on his hand, and signaled Wang Chengen to quickly use wet wipes. Can you disinfect it and put it aside? Wiping it will also reduce the nausea.

"The first payment is 10,000 pounds. Take it to this address in London and ask someone to withdraw it. Six months later, someone will go to the Duke of Buckingham to discuss the second payment."

However, the content of the letter was indeed written by Villiers, and there were a few sentences in it that he said on the ship after being captured, which could not be forged by outsiders. Hong Tao did not break his promise. According to the agreed steps, he wrote down the address of the consultant's contact person in London on the spot and handed it to the Duchess.

(End of this chapter)